Downfall
by FlikFreak
Summary: PRE-GAME; SPOILERS. With employees vanishing and an out-of-control AI endangering the facility, Aperture's bankrupt days can't get any worse. How fitting, that only the most unlikely duo can possibly fix everything...or perhaps just delay the inevitable.
1. Janitorial Duty

Hey, guess what? I'm not dead 8D

...I know, I know. A lot of you are wanting to throw bricks and whatnot at me for neglecting my other works. I'm terribly sorry I've been gone for so long; life ate me alive. Good news, though! I'm still around! Ish!

Anyway. This is my first try at a Portal fanfic. I just kinda pulled this out of nowhere so it's probably rough around the edges. Be warned, there are _**spoilers**_!

**Downfall**

**By FlikFreak**

**Summary:** Pre-game; Spoilers. It should have been another normal work week for him. But when his co-workers begin to vanish one by one, one scientist decides to take matters into his own hands and investigate. He doesn't like what he finds...

* * *

><p>Caroline was not having a good day. With the company going bankrupt and deadlines not nearly being met, she had a lot of work on her plate, and the recent wave of hired employees weren't really making the cut. Not only were they behind schedule, but they had no money, yet Cave Johnson insisted on pushing things further. Once again, he'd left her with plenty of paperwork to take care of. Not that Caroline objected to doing any work, but with so much stress being piled onto the company in general, it wasn't exactly ideal.<p>

A knock on her door gave her a momentary distraction from scribbling down numbers. Tucking a bit of stray hair behind her ear, she sat up straight. "Yes, come in!"

A skinny young man opened the door, but didn't quite step into the office. His entire body, from the blonde hair on top all the way down to his normally-pristine lab boots, was dripping with a thick white liquid. He'd at least taken proper care to clean it off his face, as Caroline could make out the familiar blue eyes peeking out from behind his glasses, but otherwise he was a mess. Not that his tone of voice seemed to convey any problems with it. "Ah, Miss Caroline! Lovely to see you, as usual. Always looking fantastic. I was just...w-well, I can't find any of the other staff and I need to, ah..."

"Is something wrong, Doctor Wheatley?" Caroline interrupted. It was almost a rhetorical question; something _had_ to be up if one of the company's employees showed up at her office door covered in white goop. That, or someone decided to move April Fool's day into August.

The man swallowed nervously. "Well, um. Actually, there's a leak in the conversion gel pipes, and..."

Caroline sighed. Considering the fact that this man was the one _reporting_ the mess, it wasn't difficult to discern whose fault it was that it even happened. She returned her attention to her reports. "I hate doing this to you, Steven, but you know all of our departments have their hands full with the ASHPD project..."

"But-"

"_Now_, Steven. The Janitorial department is already busy cleaning up a mess in one of the enrichment spheres and you're one of the few free people we have on hand. Go get a mop and clean up that mess before it gets worse."

The young man at the door looked absolutely defeated. "...yes, Miss Caroline." He turned and closed the door.

Caroline leaned back in her chair. She knew better than to believe he had actually left so quickly. _Three, two, one..._

And there he was again, in her doorway. "Ah...one more thing, Miss Caroline?"

_I thought so. _"What is it?"

She almost regretted being so harsh. Dr. Wheatley was looking at her with an odd expression, something akin to concern or...perhaps something else. He hesitated, then shook his head. "N-Nothing. Nevermind. It's nothing. Not important at all..." He almost left before he finally cleared his throat. "Ah, how...how's your daughter doing?"

This again. Caroline knew what he was trying to get at and really wished he'd just spit it out already, but she knew she wouldn't have the time for this. She offered a weak smile. "She still hasn't said anything since the incident, but she's doing very well in school."

"I...see," Steven said, a bit more quietly than usual. "That's...good. Very good. Good grades are important. Great thing to have..." He stared at the floor awkwardly, then jabbed his thumb behind him, looking at Caroline apologetically. "I'm...going to go clean up the mess now. Can't leave that there all...right. Sorry." And with that, he slowly closed the door behind him.

Caroline sighed her head and flipped back to her paperwork. She knew that Steven was well-meaning and really meant no harm, but she really didn't have time for personal things at the moment. Her hands were already full without the company in danger of going under. She almost felt sorry for Steven, though. After all, he really was trying.

Almost.

* * *

><p>"Janitorial duty again, huh?"<p>

Dr. Wheatley nodded, sighing. "Third time this week."

Nearby, Rick North grinned and picked up his mop. "And it's only Monday. New record?"

"Yeah."

"'least you got _me_ workin' with ya this time. So, little guy, what'd you do this time?"

"I reported a leak in the pipes," Steven replied blandly, repressing an irritated twitch. He knew Rick meant no harm by it, but being prodded at for being so thin still annoyed him a little. Not quite so much as when the others mocked him for being so dim, but still...

Rick laughed. "You kiddin'? Every time you do that, they _know _you're the one who did it!"

"It was an _accident_!" Steven whimpered, looking utterly helpless. "One of the screws was loose and I was _sure _I could fix it..."

"And instead you busted the_ whole damn thing_ open."

"I'm telling you, it was an _accident_!"

The reaction only caused Rick to laugh even more. "If you needed a shower that badly, you could've just gone to the rooms in the back. At least ya didn't swallow any of that stuff, though. Can't go around poisoning yourself when you're on the job."

Steven couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle. It was a surprise to most scientists that Rick was even a competent engineer; he spent most of his spare time weight lifting and indulging in various athletic activities, but at work he was an utter genius.

Rick gave Steven an odd look. "'ey, Wheatley. What's with the long face? Didn't get chewed out by the management again, did ya?"

"Actually," Steven replied, his eyes not leaving the floor, "I...I really couldn't find them anywhere. Must've been busy, I suppose, doing other...management-related duties and what have you. I ended up going to Caroline's office. She's the one that...um, Rick?"

He didn't even need to finish his sentence. Rick was giving him _the look_ again. That odd half-lidded look in his eyes, that knowing grin, eyebrows quirked and arms crossed. It _always_ made Wheatley nervous. He took a nervous step back when the brawny man chuckled at him. "Well?" Rick said.

Steven blinked. "Well? ...well what?"

"You tell her yet?

"Tell her what?"

"Don't play dumb. You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about."

"I do? Can't say I remember, actually, there's a lot of things I could have-"

"Come on, Wheatley. _Everyone_ knows ya like her."

Steven's face instantly flushed red. "Wha- No I don't! I just think...w-well. I might be _kind of_-"

"Quit kiddin' yourself!" Rick replied, grinning and pulling Wheatley aside in a gesture that was dangerously similar to what was normally followed up with a noogie. "Just walk on in there and tell 'er! Ladies hate when ya beat around the bush; ya gotta be straightforward!"

"You know I'm no good with this stuff!" Steven cried, flailing and attempting in vain to escape Rick's grip. "Besides, you know what would happen if they caught me acting like that in the workplace! I'd be ruined! Kicked out! Given the boot! Finished!"

And then he really _did_ get a noogie.

"Hey! Heyheyheyeheyhey! Rick, let me go! I just did my hair this morning!"

"Then ya went and dumped a bunch of goop all over it," Rick pointed out, not really loosening his grip on his friend. "I'd say it's a lost cause by now, little guy!"

"Stop calling me that! And let go of me! I still have to clean up!"

Rick ignored him in favor of laughing heartily. Steven still tried to jerk himself out of Rick's hold, but it was nigh impossible. After a few (horribly failed) attempts, however, Rick released his grip and Steven found himself tripping over his feet and sliding a few inches forward right into another mess of conversion gel, giving Rick another excuse to laugh even more. "_Anyone_ can get out of a grip like that!" Rick exclaimed. "You're not even trying!"

"You're just too strong!" Steven protested, standing up and grimacing at the goo stuck to his lab coat.

"And you're too skinny," Rick shot back playfully. "Now c'mon. Get this mess mopped up before someone reports us for horsin' around on the job."

Steven blinked, watching as Rick propped his mop up against the wall and passed him by. "Wait, where're you going? Didn't you just say you were helping me out here? What gives, mate?"

"I'm headin' to the the break room," Rick casually stated. "It's not my lunch break yet but I'm starvin' so I'm gonna get something to tide me over for a bit. You want anything?"

"A slice of cake?" Steven requested, hopeful.

Rick shook his head. "No can do. Cake's on Tuesdays only, remember?"

Steven felt his bubble of hope popping at the reminder. "Oh...well, maybe a donut or something. You know me; I'll eat anything. I'm not picky. 's long as it's edible."

"Will do," Rick replied. "Oh, and Wheatley?"

"What?"

"Life's an adventure, buddy. Don't let it pass you up." And after his usual encouraging hand gestures, Rick rounded the corner and was out of sight.

Now alone, Steven Wheatley stared at the conversion gel covering the floor and sighed. Rick would probably get caught up in a conversation with one of the other coworkers and wouldn't be back for a good while, so he'd probably be doing most of the work himself, again. Ignoring his stomach's protest for food, he shoved his mop forward and focused on scrubbing the floor, all the while reflecting on Rick's words.

That evening, he decided that enough was enough. He'd go see Caroline tomorrow. Bring her a gift, maybe. He'd done enough beating around the bush, enough waiting and being too timid to speak up. Maybe he'd be lucky...

His thoughts were interrupted when Rick came back. "Sorry, break room's a no-go. That new guy spilled a bunch of repulsion gel all over the floor and it's a royal mess..." His voice trailed off. "... Hey. What's with that look?"

Wheatley blinked, shaking his head quickly to clear his mind, and went back to mopping. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Just...thinking. That's all."

Just thinking.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. The Promotion

**Downfall**

**Chapter Two: The Promotion**

* * *

><p>"Go on, sweetheart. You can do it."<p>

But the girl refused to speak. She hugged her teddie bear closer to her and stared at the floor, anxious. Caroline sighed. "Sweetie, I know this is hard for you, but you have to try. Nothing's going to happen to you."

Silence.

"Maybe we should try something easier? Say apple for me. _Aaaapple_."

Slower pronounciation and encouragement still yielded no results.

Frustrated, Caroline rubbed her temples with her fingers. Being a single parent wasn't exactly easy, and dealing with a mute girl whom had gone through who-knows-what just before she adopted her wasn't making things any easier. The girl was incredibly smart - and notoriously stubborn among her peers - but never spoke a word. "Sweetheart," Caroline began, "I know it's difficult for you, but try a little harder, okay?"

The girl looked away, loosening her grip on the teddie bear...then nodded.

"Good. Now, let's try-"

_**RING RING RING!**_

Caroline sighed. Of all the times to be interrupted, now had to be the worst. She pushed herself off the couch, sriding toward the kitchen to pick up the phone. She didn't have to look to know that the little girl on the couch was eyeing her very carefully, as usual.

"Hello?"

"Caroline, that you?"

Caroline nearly dropped the phone. "Mr. Johnson?" _Why are you on the phone with your condition?_ "...What is it, sir?"

"I need you to come meet me at the lab right away."

"Certainly, Mr. Johnson. Might I ask what all the fuss is about?"

"Someone's getting a promotion today and I need a hand with a few things."

A promotion? Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. It wasn't every day _that_ happened, especially at seven o'clock in the evening. Pushing her odd feelings aside, she replied. "Alright. I'll be there in thirty minutes. I need to put my daughter to bed first."

"Great! See you then."

Caroline placed the phone on the wall. "Come on, dear. Bedtime."

The girl didn't move. Caroline felt her gaze being met with fear and suspicion, something that she rarely saw in a child. Had the incident really affected her that badly? Caroline knelt down to the girl's eye level. "It'll be fine, sweetie. I just need to go to work for a little while. I'll be back tomorrow to take you to school, alright?"

A few uneasy moments passed, and the girl bit her lip, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. Caroline winced; maybe that wasn't such a good idea. She glanced at the floor, wondering how to word this. _I've never been good with children..._ "...it'll be okay. I promise. Just get some sleep and I'll be back tomorrow morning, alright?"

For a while, there was no response, other than sniffling. Then, the girl nodded. It was hard for Caroline to repress her smile at the gesture, and she layed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. In response, the girl jumped off the couch and threw her arms around Caroline, clinging tightly.

Caroline was a little stunned. Why was her daughter clinging to her like this? Were all children wary of their mothers leaving them in the evening? Or did this have something to do with the incident? Brushing those feelings aside as well, she picked up the girl (_You're getting heavy, aren't you...)_ and headed toward her bedroom. "Here, I'll tuck you in before I leave. Alright?"

There was no response, as usual, but Caroline could tell the child was nodding. _Don't worry,_ She wanted to say. _I'll be back tomorrow morning. I promise._

* * *

><p>It turned out that the great and mighty Steven Wheatley was too broke to buy even a single flower, so he ended up picking a daisy from the side of the road on his way to work. It probably wouldn't impress Caroline that much, but it was the thought that counted most, right?<p>

He strode into work proudly, ignoring the odd glances he got from the other workers, and headed directly to Caroline's office. There was a light in his eyes, a smile on his face, and hope in his heart. Nothing could kill this high. Nothing could possibly go wrong! It was like Rick said, you only get one shot at life. Life's an adventure, and Caroline's name was missing from her door.

_...huh?_

Wheatley did a double-take.

Caroline's nameplate was no longer on her door.

Alright, maybe something _could_ kill his high. He began to panic. What happened? Had she been fired? Removed? Maybe she just moved offices. Or maybe there was some sort of mistake! Of course! That had to be it! _Everyone_ knew Cave Johnson valued Caroline over any other employee, he wouldn't-

"HI DOCTOR WHEATLEY!"

He nearly leapt out of his boots. He spun around, terrified, only to see a young woman standing behind him, laughing. "How come you always scare so easy?"

"How come you're always scaring me?" Steven wailed. Cara Dodson, another of the younger engineers that had been taken in when Aperture was desperate for employees, had an odd habit of sneaking up on people, outmatched only by her constant questions.

"Whacha got there?" Cara asked. "Is that a flower? Where'd you get it?"

Steven stared at the daisy for a moment. "Uh...one of the...uh, engineers needs it. For a, uh...experiment?"

"Ooooohhh! What kinda experiment?"

"...flower...gel?"

"Are you giving that flower to someone?"

"_NO_!" Wheatley cried. Cara was endearing, really, but not when she was pestering him like this. "Look, I need to see Miss Caroline for an assignment. She's in today, right? Where'd they move her office to?"

And suddenly, the playful, curious look on Cara's face faded into confusion and concern. "Didn't you hear? Caroline got a promotion last night."

Wheatley blinked. "A _promotion_?"

"Yeah. No one's seen her since she got it, though. Maybe her office really did get moved and no one can find it? Oh! Oh! Maybe they let her take a vacation so they could get a _new _office ready! 'cause no one saw her walk in the door or anything today. I sure didn't. And Shaun didn't see anyone either and he _always _sees people walk in. What do you think, Doctor Wheatley?"

Steven gave no response. He stared at the flower for a moment, then tucked it into his front pocket. "I don't know," He admitted.

"There's a lotta stuff you don't know, though," Cara replied.

For once, Wheatley ignored the jab.

* * *

><p>Rick quirked an eyebrow. "Promoted, huh?"<p>

Steven didn't need to be told twice. When he got a job at Aperture, his family had warned him that it would be near impossible to advance up the ladder. However, it was the only place that had readily offered him a job at the time, so he gladly took it. "Yeah," he replied, a bit detatched. "That's what Cara said, anyway."

"That's odd," Rick commented. "Everyone knows Old Man Johnson's pretty picky about where he places people. Then again, you gotta admit; he played favorites with Caroline."

Leaning back in his chair, Wheatley sighed. "I just wish I'd spoken up yesterday. I went to her office today, but she wasn't there. Even the nameplate was blank. Just like that, my only chance...gone."

Rick's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh... Maybe they moved her office."

"Maybe," Wheatley replied. "Guess I won't be seeing her today, either."

"You see her _every _day," Rick pointed out, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "You just never tell her."

"I will. Eventually."

Rolling his eyes, Rick turned away, letting the issue go and allowing Wheatley to clear his mind. He stared at the flower in his hand. It was mirroring his own inner feelings, somehow; it had wilted and a few petals were missing.

"Hey, why the long face? Something bothering you?"

Steven shook his head. "No. I'm fine."

"You're a bad liar, Wheatley."

"I know.

Rick sighed, turning back to his desk. "You can just look for her later, right?"

"I guess so," Steven replied. The comment was only a small comfort, though; and it didn't help his mood.

* * *

><p>Steven never did find out where Caronline's office had moved, nor did he find anyone that knew. He decided to try and find her some other time ("Maybe she just has a lot of work for her first day?") and headed down one of the main corridors to the exit.<p>

"Doctor Wheatley?"

"Hmm?"

Wheatley glanced back to see none other than Shaun, one of the rookie employees. He was young, freshly-hired, and many of the veterans agreed he probably would have gone straight to NASA were it not for his childishness. It was almost a constant factor of his appearance to have his hair dissheveled, his arms full of notebooks (most of which were about star formations, galaxies, and other extraterrestrial subjects), and his shirt on backwards. Normally he'd have an excited grin on his face, too, but today he merely looked worried. "Have you seen Cara anywhere today?" he asked.

"Wasn't she just working in the research wing?" Wheatley said. "I was headed to Caroline's office and I passed her up earlier today."

"She was," Shaun replied, looking worried, "But now I can't find her anywhere. I asked a few other people and they don't know where she is either. I thought she stayed home sick, but..."

Something about Shaun's words struck a chord with Steven. He couldn't help but feel something was off. Had Cave Johnson gone on a promotion spree? Sure, Aperture was short on engineers ever since they started running out of testing volunteers, but this was just _odd_. "She's probably still around," Steven reassured, doing his best (and mostly failing) to mask his own worry. "What's the rush?"

Shaun's face immediately flushed a deep crimson color. "N-Nothing! I was just wondering where she went! Th-that's all!"

A few moments of awkwardness passed as Steven gave his usual quirked-eyebrow look to Shaun. Whenever they talked about Cara he _always_ acted like this. Face going all red, tripping over his own words...just what was going through that boy's mind? And why only with Cara? He wasn't scared of her, was he? Cara was hardly intimidating and Shaun wasn't really a coward. He just couldn't figure it out.

"I-I gotta go," Shaun mumbled. "They're running another test with the conversion gel again this evening, and they want me in there to help."

"Alright, then." Steven shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Shaun replied. "Oh yeah; tell Caroline that my reports are ready next time you see her, okay?"

Wheatley didn't know whether to smile or wince at the comment. He went by Caroline's office so often that everyone usually counted on him to get things to her or send reports her way. It was useful, but awkward. "Alright."

"Thanks!" Shaun said, offering a weak grin before hurrying off.

The moment Shaun was out of range, Wheatley gave the floor a hard stare. People didn't just go missing like that without a word. _Especially _not Caroline. There was practically no one else in the workplace more dedicated than her. And now Cara was gone, too.

_What's going on here?_

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p>Things are about to heat up, big time! Again, this chapter is a little rushed, but I wanted to go ahead and toss it out here. See you all next chapter!<p> 


End file.
